Attachment for automatic winders



June 26, 1956 A. D. HARMON ATTACHMENT FOR AUTOMATIC WINDERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 15, 1953 m T m m ALBERT D. HARMON ATTORNEY June 26, 1956 A. D. HARMON ATTACHMENT FOR AUTOMATIC WINDERS I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 15, 1953 INVENTOR. ALBERT D. HARMON ATTORNEY June 26, 1956 HARMQN 2,752,101

ATTACHMENT F'OR AUTOMATIC WINDERS Filed Jan. 15, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. ALBERT D. HARMON Y @M KM ATTORNEY ATTACHMENT F93 AUTOMATIC WINDERS Albert D. Harmon, Laurens, S. C., assignor to Deering Milliken Research Corporation, Peudleton, S. C., a corporation of Delaware Application Eanuary 15, 1953, Serial No. 331,356

Claims. (Cl. 242-32) This invention relates to automatic winding machines and is directed more particularly to a device suitable for attachment to such winders which detects the presence of incompletely wound bobbins and ejects them from the machine. The present attachment is particularly suited for use with a winding machine of the type known as the Abbott Automatic Quiller such as shown for example in United States Patent No. 2,362,455, dated November 1 1944, and will be described with specific reference to such application, although, as will be readily understood, the utility of the invention is by no means limited thereto.

Automatic quillers of the type just referred to have only recently been introduced but by virtue of their greatly increased production and automatic operation, they have been well received by the mills. As is well known, such machines have a frame, usually circular or oval in shape, about which a plurality of winding heads move in continuous fashion. The heads are interconnected by means of a chain and each is a complete winding unit in itself, having an individual motor, traversing mechanism, yarn supply package, tension device and so forth. Bobbins are fed to the heads at one station along the frame and yarn is wound about the bobbins as the heads are transported along the frame, the winding operation being complete after about three-quarters of the distance around the frame has been traversed. The wound bobbins are ejected from the machine at a station near the feeding station, being either delivered to an indexing attachment for placement on pin boards or allowed to drop into a suitable receptacle.

in the course of the winding operation, it is virtually inevitable that some of the strands of yarn will break and as the quiller is not equipped to unite the broken strand, those heads where an end is down are carried through the full cycle in whatever stage of winding that existed at the instant of the break. The final ejecting mechanism functions indiscriminately, that is, regardless of the condition of the bobbin, and, as a result, empty or partially wound bobbins are mixed with fully wound bobbins and have to be separated either by a special operator or by the battery hand. This adds to the expense of the quilling operation, particularly where the incidence of ends down is high, as is often the case in the handling of weak or spun yarns.

It is therefore the object of this invention to provide a simple, inexpensive device for detecting the presence of an empty or incompletely wound bobbin and ejecting it before the final ejection mechanism is reached.

it is a further object of this invention to provide a preliminary ejection device which can be adjusted to expel bobbins wound below any desired level and to acccmmodate bobbins of varying length.

Other and further objects and advantages will be aparent from the following description when read in connection with the drawings in which:

Figure l is a fragmentary plan view of an automatic winding machine equipped with my invention;

Linitedl States Patent G Patented June 26, 1956 Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the machine shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of my invention in association with related parts of a winder, illustrating the operation of the invention when a fully wound bobbin is being sensed; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view similar to Figure 3, showing the expulsion of an empty bobbin.

Where in this disclosure use is made of the term yarn, it is to be understood that the term embraces any and all forms of continuous textile material, whether natural or synthetic, continuous filamentary or staple, multi-filament or monofilament. Similarly, the term bobbin is intended to include any structure adapted to be wound with yarn, such as a quill, filling bobbin, warp bobbin, flanged bobbin, pirn and so forth.

In Fi ure l of the drawings, the numeral 10 designates the main rail of an automatic winder which functions as a track upon which a plurality of winding heads ride, only a single winding head being herein shown, generally indicated at 12. Each of the winding heads 12 is provided with a winding head carriage 14 which rolls along the main rail it) on a pair of support rollers 16, being guided by a pair of guide rollers 18, only one of each of the rollers being visible in Figures 1 and 2. The winding head carriage 14 is connected to a continuous chain 20 by a drag link 22 and a drag plate 24, the chain 20 being propelled around the machine by means not shown, pulling the winding head carriage 14 along the main rail 10.

Each of the winding heads 12 includes a motor, not shown, enclosed within the motor housing 26 which drives the bobbin chuck 23 and a traverse mechanism, not shown, enclosed within the traverse mechanism housing 30. A traverse rod 32 is connected to the traverse mechanism and is reciprocated thereby, the rod carrying a thread guide assembly 34 (best seen in Figures 2 and 4) having a pair of yarn guide slots 36 and 38 therein through which the yarn Y passes. The thread guide assembly 34 is also provided with an upstanding thread guide roller pin 48 upon which is journaled thread guide roller 42.

Spaced outwardly from and above the main rail 10 is a traverse cam rail 44 which assists in the building of bobbins by gradually moving the assembly 34 outward along the traverse rod 32. To accomplish this the cam rail 44 tapers outwardly at a very slight angle throughout the sector of the track where the bobbin is wound. In the particular position illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 the bobbin has been completely built and rotation there-- of has ceased, the bobbin being held stationary untilremoved from the machine.

Extending outwardly from the traverse mechanism housing 30 is a traverse guide bar 46 which carries at its extreme outer end a bobbin-tip bracket assembly 48, having a bore 49 extending therethrough co-axial with bobbin chuck 28. A shaft 50 slidably fits in bore 49, which shaft is provided at its inner end with an integral extension 51 of enlarged diameter recessed at its innerface, as at 52 (see Figure 4), to engage the tip of a bobbin B. There is formed in the shaft 50 a slot 53 which is penetrated by one end of a doffing lever 54 mounted on the bracket assembly 48 for pivotal movement about a vertical pin 55. The shaft 50 and extension 51 are biased in the direction of bobbin chuck 28 by means of a tension spring 55 acting on dotting lever 54. It will thus beseen that the bobbin B is normally held between bobbin chuck 28 and extension 51 but as the dofiing lever 54 is moved in a clockwise direction (in Figure 1) about. pin 55 the shaft 50 and extension 51 are moved axially away from the bobbin chuck 28, releasing bobbin B which falls under the force of gravity. The bracket assembly 48 also supports the outer end of traverse rod 32.

Dependent from the winding head carriage 14 and extending downwardly therefrom is a vertical standard 57 to which is secured at about midway of its length a pair of yarn guides 58 and 59 and a disc tension array 6% A horizontal platform 61 is attached to the foot of standard 57, the platform 61 carrying a yarn supply package 62.

As is well known in the art, the frame of the automatic winder forms an endless track, either of circular or oval shape, about which a large number of winding carriages move in continuous fashion, bobbins being fed to the carriages as they progressively move past a bobbin feeding station located at one point along the track, wound with yarn as the carriages move around the track, and finallyexpelled from the machine by an expelling head located at a point substantially completely around the track from the feeding station. The overall construction of the machine and the details of the feeding and expelling stations have not been shown since they have no particular relationship with the instant invention.

Up to this point, the discussion has been limited to those parts which are conventional with the Abbott Automatic Quiller. Turning now to a description of my particular improvement, there is mounted on traverse limiting rail 44 an elongated rigid bracket 63 which extends in a direction generally transversely of the rail 44-. Bracket 63 is provided at its outer end With a short downwardly directed flange 64 and at its inner end with an elongated vertical web portion 66. Formed in the flange 64 and web 66 are co-axial apertures 68 and 69 which are rotatably penetrated by an L-shaped member 7t), made preferably of heavy round stock, and having its short leg 71 projecting downwardly into the path of the free end of dofiing lever 54. There is also formed in the web 66 a second aperture 72 penetrated by the threaded portion of a shoulder screw 74 secured to the web by nut 76. The unthreaded portion of the shoulder screw 74 projects inwardly of the web 66 and pivotably supports an elongated bobbin engaging finger 78, the center of mass of which is disposed beneath the pivotal axis to cause the finger to normally assume a vertical position. Preferably, the lower corners of the finger are rounded to prevent damage to the yarn carried by the bobbins. A stop 80 is furnished on the web 66 for preventing rotation of the finger 78 in a direction opposite to the direction of the travel of the winding heads 12.

Coacting with the finger 78 to control rotation of the L-shaped member 70 is a short bar member 81 apertured near one end thereof, as at 82, to fit on the member 70, and having a slot 83 between recess and the end adjacent thereto for clamping engagement by means of bolt 84 and nut 85 with the end of the long leg of member 7t! which projects inwardly of the web 66. The member 83 extends at right angles to the plane of the member 7% and is of such length as to strike the top edge of finger '73 upon attempted rotation of member 79 when finger 75 is in a vertical position, but to clear the finger 78 upon slight rotation of finger 78 about shoulder screw 74.

Since automatic winding machines may be equipped with winding heads of varying length in order to wind different size bobbins, some means must be provided whereby my device can be adjusted to suit the particular situation. To this end the long leg of the l..-shaped member 70 is made of considerably greater length than the distance between the flange 64 and the Web 66, being encircled by a collar 86 located on outer side of the web 66 and capable of being secured to the member 75. by any desired means, for example, set screw 57' By loosening the set screw 87, bolt 84 and nut 85, and shifting the member 70 with respect to the member 31 and collar 86, the position of the short leg of the L-shaped member 70 can be varied to, project into the path of the doifing lever of any given winding head. a

A detent member 88 is provided on the L-shaped member 70, having the shape of a circular segment, i. e., flat 'member 70 by means of a set screw 90. The flattened face of the detent 88 is directed upwardly and upon rotation of the member 70 engages the under surface of bracket 63, preventing the member 70 from being rotated to a position where it would be inoperative.

Disposed beneath the winding head is a bobbin discharge chute 92 having a large substantially square mouth at its upper end, the back wall 93 thereof tapering downwardly and outwardly to avoid the elements carried by the lower portion of the winding head carriage, such as the yarn supply package, tension device, etc., and then extending parallel to the vertical outer wall 94 of the chute to form with the outer face a narrow elongated lower chute section. The outer wall is secured at its lower edge to the foot rail 96 of the Winder by means of a pair of brackets 98 and at its upper end to the traverse cam rail 44 by means of asingle L-shaped bracket 10!]. To deflect the yarn from the path of the chute 92, a yarn deflecting guide 102 is fastened to the chute along the back top edge thereof, the guide having an outwardly curved arcuate section 104 projecting beyond the side of the chute first reached by the moving yarn.

I have found it desirable to remove a triangular section, as at 108 (see Figure 2), from the side wall of the chute which is last reached by the moving bobbins. This results in adequate clearance between the side wall and the carriage 14 and avoids any tendency of the bobbins to jam at this point, disrupting the operation of the machine.

The operation of my invention may be best understood from a consideration of Figures 3 and 4, Figure 3 illustrating the operation with a fully wound bobbin and Figure 4 with an empty bobbin. It will beseen that as a fully wound quill encounters my device, the bobbin sensing finger 78,is contacted by the bobbin B and rotated about the shoulder screw 74, moving the upper portion of the finger 78 out of the path of the bar member 81 secured to the L-shaped member 7G, thereby permitting free rotation of the member 79; While the finger 78 is held in an out-of-vertical position by the bobbin B, the dotting lever 54 of the winding head 12 contacts the short leg of the member 70 and the member 70 yields allowing the lever 54 to pass on unmoved. On the other hand, when an empty bobbin passes through. the device, the finger 78 is not contacted by the bobbin and remains in a vertical position, locking the member 84 and'the member 70 against rotation with the result that as the doffing lever 54 engages the short leg of the member 70, the lever is forced to pivot, releasing the tip of the bobbin and permitting it to drop from the bobbin chuck 28 into the chute 92. Obviously, a box or other suitable container may be placed underneath the exit end of the chute 92 to receive bobbins ejected by my device.

Preferably, I employ a spacing block 106 between the traverse rail 44 and the bracket 63. By selecting a block having a suitable height or vertical dimension, the elevation of the bracket and the members carried thereby, particularly the bobbin sensing finger 78, can be fixed at any desired point. This permits the user to adjust the device to eject bobbins which have been wound to any given diameter.

It will be obvious that my invention is capable of minor modification by those skilled in the art. For example, if it is desired to associate my device with an automatic winding machine which is not equipped with a traverse cam rail or in which the cam rail does not ex tend completely around the machine, my attachment could be supported on standards extending from any suitable part of the frame. Therefore, I do not choose to be limited to the specific embodiment of the invention described and illustrated, but only by the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

That which is claimed is:

1. The combination with a machine for automatically winding yarn upon bobbins moving along a fixed path during said winding cycle comprising means movable to release said bobbins from said machine, of means normally projecting into the path of said bobbins and adapted to sense the extent of winding of yarn upon said bobbins and means rendered operative by said sensing means to move said releasing means when the amount of yarn wound upon said bobbins falls below a predetermined level.

2. The combination with an automatic winding machine in which bobbins are wound with yarn while moving along a fixed path, the winding operation being completed at a point prior to the end of said path, said machine including pivotal means traveling with said bobbins and operable to release said bobbins from said machine, of a preliminary bobbin ejection device located at a point on said path intermediate the point of completion of the winding of the yarn and the end of said path, said device comprising means projecting into the path of said pivotal means and normally free to move out of the path thereof, and means for sensing the extent of winding upon said bobbin and adapted to restrain said last named means against movement when the extent of winding falls below a predetermined level whereby said pivotal means are pivoted, releasing an incompletely wound bobbin.

3. The combination with a machine for automatically winding yarn upon bobbins carried by winding heads about a fixed path, said machine including lever operated means associated with each winding head for releasing a bobbin from said head, of a rotatable arm fixedly mounted on said machine and adapted to contact said lever to release said bobbin, a lug carried by said arm and rotatable therewith, pivotal means projecting at one end into the path of said winding head and at the other end into the path of said lug preventing rotation thereof, the first-mentioned end of said pivotal means being adapted to be contacted and pivoted by a bobbin wound to at least a predetermined diameter, moving said secondmentioned end out of the path of said lug, permitting said arm to rotate upon contact with said lever, whereby a wound bobbin is not released.

4. The combination with a machine for winding yarn upon bobbins individually carried by a plurality of winding heads moving about an endless frame, each of said winding heads having associated therewith a lever-operated bobbin release mechanism, of a bracket mounted on said frame, an L-shaped arm supported by said bracket for rotation about a horizontal axis, the short leg of said arm projecting downwardly into the path of said lever, and adapted to actuate the same, a lug carried by the long leg of said arm and adjustable axially thereof, a finger pivotably secured to said bracket and normally assuming a vertical position, said finger projecting into the path of the bobbins carried by said winding heads, being of such length as to be contacted and pivoted by a bobbin wound to at least a predetermined diameter, said finger being adapted to interlock with said lug when in a vertical position to prevent rotation of said arm but to release said lug when pivoted out of a vertical position, and means for limiting the extent of rotation of said arm.

5. In a machine for automatically winding yarn upon bobbins carried by winding heads about a fixed path, said machine including a release mechanism associated with each winding head for releasing a bobbin from said head: yieldably mounted means normally positioned to operate said release mechanism at a selected point in the travel of said bobbin, means moving with said bobbins urging said yieldably mounted means to an inoperative position when a bobbin passes said selected point, and means for sensing the extent of winding upon a bobbin as it approaches said selected point and acting to retain said yieldably mounted means in operative position when the extent of winding upon the bobbin is less than a predetermined extent, whereby said incompletely wound bobbin is released.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,675,183 Perry Apr. 13, 1954 

